


slow up (because home is love)

by aserenitatum



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Genre: F/F, There is zero plot here, This is pure fluff, this is just them being soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aserenitatum/pseuds/aserenitatum
Summary: “Helena Bertinelli,” she hisses lowly, eyes narrowing as she leans in close to Helena’s face and pokes Helena’s shoulder. “Have you moved me in my sleep by throwing me over your shoulder?”She doesn’t say anything but she doesn’t have to, her silence speaking volumes and Dinah looks insulted and surprised for the second time in as many minutes.
Relationships: Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance
Comments: 57
Kudos: 250





	slow up (because home is love)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry; the next upload was supposed to be the next chapter of [Classic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23210761/chapters/55566226) but this little story just would not let go of me.  
> inspired by a hyperspecific spiral I went down after making [this gif](https://i.imgur.com/B19Zyl4.gif)
> 
> I hope you like it!

“Goodnight you two!” 

Dinah twists to wave goodbye and almost trips over one of the loose cobblestones of the path leading to the front door so Helena wraps an arm around her waist to stabilise her. Dinah happily melts into her, trusting Helena’s hold on her as she smiles over her shoulder. 

“Thanks for everything, hon!” Dinah finally turns back to see where they’re going but makes zero attempts to loosen herself from Helena embrace, turning to her with a loopy smile and tired eyes. “Hi.” 

“Hi,” Helena says, unable to resist Dinah and her cute dimples. “Home?” 

She nods and snakes an arm around Helena’s middle so they can comfortably walk side by side to the car waiting for them. 

Helena opens the door with one hand and slides the other one to the small of her back, gentle but urging her into the car and when she’s inside and Helena wants to slide in after her, she lets out a small laugh at how Dinah’s barely inside the car, having scooted only enough for Helena to have a spot. 

She must hesitate because Dinah glances up at her and pats the spot with what Helena’s sure is an attempt at an encouraging smile but is just slightly dazed, so she laughs again and slides into the car, having to twist to get the door closed and locking it as she leans back against it. 

The cab pulls out of the driveway and Helena spares another quick wave back at their friend in the doorway before turning her attention to Dinah, who has made herself at home draped over Helena. 

“I love you,” Dinah murmurs, nuzzling the corner of Helena’s jaw. “Did you know that?” 

“I do know that,” Helena says with a soft laugh, dragging her hand down Dinah’s back soothingly and loving the soft sigh she gets in response. 

Dinah scoots closer, dropping her head to the crook of Helena’s neck and closing her eyes, lashes tickling her skin. 

“Don’t fall asleep,” Helena says but her voice is soft when she speaks, lips brushing the shell of Dinah’s ear. 

Dinah’s been awake since the crack of dawn for a long day of work, followed by a fun dinner party with friends, but the combination of two glasses of wine and lack of sleep means she’s crashing hard and even though Helena wants her to rest, she knows Dinah falling asleep in the car isn’t the greatest scenario either. 

“Or what?” she taunts, finding some energy to lift an arm and poke Helena’s thigh. “You’re not gonna carry me upstairs?” 

“No,” Helena says and Dinah gasps so loudly that even without having to look at her face, Helena knows she’s mocking and cracks a smile of her own. 

She gets confirmation when Dinah waves dismissively — _sluggishly_ — and lets out a low, disbelieving hum. 

“I’m not.” 

“You’re just gonna leave me here in the car?” 

“Yup.” 

“But I’m your favourite wife,” Dinah says in a low, whining voice that Helena’s a little too familiar with even if it’s not a tone Dinah usually uses outside the bedroom, and her eyes flicker to the rearview mirror to see if the driver is paying attention to them. 

“You’re my only wife,” she counters. 

“Exactly.” 

“Okay,” Helena says and she can feel Dinah smile against her neck and press a soft kiss to her pulse point. “I’ll carry you upstairs.” 

“My hero,” Dinah sighs. 

“Over my shoulder.” 

Dinah rips away from her as if burned, mouth dropping open in a perfect picture of indignation and Helena tries not to laugh. Her voice is horrified when she breathes, “No.” 

“If you fall asleep, that’s the easiest way,” Helena says matter-of-factly, refusing to bend to Dinah’s big brown eyes and pouty lips. 

“That’s not true.” 

“Yes it is,” she says, glancing outside to see how far from home they are before settling her eyes on Dinah again. “You’re too… floppy? When you’re asleep.” 

“Helena Bertinelli,” she hisses lowly, eyes narrowing as she leans in close to Helena’s face and pokes Helena’s shoulder. “Have you moved me in my sleep by throwing me over your shoulder?” 

She doesn’t say anything but she doesn’t have to, her silence speaking volumes and Dinah looks insulted and surprised for the second time in as many minutes, scooting as far away as she can within the limited space, crossing her arms and glaring at the back of the front passenger seat as she leans against the other door. 

Helena tries not to laugh at the sight of Dinah looking half petulant and half-asleep, eyes struggling to keep up the glare and her arms lacking the strength to remain crossed. 

She twists to lean against the car door and fully face Dinah, watching her intently, appreciating every moment she gets to just look at her. The lights of the passing city play across her features, blues and reds and yellows highlighting the soft curve of her cheek and sharp dip of her neck. Her long lashes flutter with a particularly long blink, head lolling forward and Helena almost reaches out to catch her when Dinah’s head snaps up again, eyes going wide as she blinks in rapid succession to wake herself up before slumping back against the seat. 

Dinah turns to look at Helena, eyes warm and smile soft before remembering that she’d been playing up her indignation so she clenches her jaw and tries to muster up a stern look but Helena’s expression doesn’t budge and she just keeps her eyes on Dinah even as the woman turns away with a haughty lift of her chin. 

“Dinah…” she murmurs after watching Dinah fight against sleep for a while, a fingertip trailing down her arm to get her attention. 

“Hm?” 

“We’re home.” 

Dinah looks out the window and seems to notice for the first time that they’re not moving anymore. “Oh.” 

The surprised little utterance reassures Helena that Dinah’s not going to drift off again so she quickly hops out of the car and rounds it to Dinah’s side, carefully opening the door just in case she’s leaning her full weight against it. She offers both hands to Dinah, who tries to cling onto her exaggerated displeasure in her sleepy state but she caves far quicker than usual, sliding warm hands into Helena’s waiting ones and letting herself be carefully pulled up, leaning heavily into Helena’s body again. 

Dinah feels so warm against her, more so than the stifling summer heat but the weight of her is familiar and comforting and Helena would never let her go if it were up to her. She glances around, scanning their surroundings even though they’re five steps from their front door and Dinah lets out a breathy little laugh. 

“I think we’re good, H,” she mumbles, her fingers drifting under Helena’s loose top to run the tips along her bare skin, tracing over scars she’s touched and kissed more times than Helena can count, the movement soothing in its familiarity. 

“That’s not what I was looking for,” she whispers into Dinah’s ear as she closes the door to the car, and she gets a low hum in return that gives away just how little Dinah believes her words. “Here,” she says after digging into her pocket, holding out their house keys and Dinah takes them with a confused furrow of her brow, twirling the keychain around her index finger. 

“Wh—?” 

Dinah doesn’t get much further than that, words turning into a sound of surprise when Helena cleanly lifts her off her feet, one hand firm around her back and the other under her knees, tucking her close to Helena’s torso and Dinah’s arms lock around her neck even before she realises what’s happening, the move second nature to her by now. 

Helena shifts her slightly to get a good grip on her but it’s barely needed because Dinah is perfectly cradled in her arms, a familiar weight that Helena has no trouble carrying. 

Dinah tightens her arms around Helena’s neck, leaning in to drag her lips along Helena’s jaw and up her cheek. 

“This takes me back,” she whispers, voice dangerously low as her fingers twist in the short hairs at the nape of Helena’s neck. 

Her words are flirty but Helena can feel her hide a yawn against the fabric of her shirt and she just looks at Dinah with a small smile as Dinah closes her eyes with a sigh. 

“I don’t remember you falling asleep in my arms,” Helena can’t help but tease as she takes the four stairs up to their front door. 

“Hmm.” Dinah twists to unlock their door, turning the handle and letting Helena nudge it open with her foot. “That’s true.” 

She turns to let Dinah lock the door once they’re inside and once that’s done she can feel the woman curl into her again, forehead dropping to the crook of her neck with a deep sigh as she waits for Helena to kick off her shoes. 

“Warm,” Dinah mumbles quietly and Helena twists to press her lips to the side of Dinah’s head. “Maybe…” She pauses, sighs. “The second glass was too much.” 

Helena laughs as she goes up the stairs, feeling more than hearing Dinah’s own giggles. 

“But you had fun.” 

“I did,” Dinah says almost wistfully, index finger winding into a lock of hair at the base of Helena’s neck, twisting it around her digit and letting it slip free. “Are we gonna end the night with sex?” 

Helena almost drops her she’s so surprised by the words, a laugh ripping from her chest and her shoulders shaking so much that Dinah’s body moves with them. 

“No,” she says, trying for a stern tone as she kicks open the bedroom door. She carefully sets Dinah on the bed, intending on moving away to take off her shoes for her when the woman fists Helena’s shirt in her fingers with a force she didn’t realise Dinah still possessed in her sleepy state and yanks her back, lifting herself up enough to capture Helena’s lips in a kiss. “Dinah…” 

“Shh.” She pulls Helena closer, fully on top of her and Helena’s a sucker for anything Dinah so she goes willingly, leg sliding between Dinah’s to keep her settled comfortably as she returns to needy kiss, her hands dragging up Dinah’s body. 

Dinah lifts a leg and hooks it around the back of Helena’s thigh, hands grasping for any part of Helena she can touch and Helena takes advantage of the moment to slip her hands behind Dinah’s neck and swiftly unclasp her dual chain necklace. She pulls them away with a smug smile, dropping the necklaces to Dinah’s nightstand and it’s the sound of metal clinking that finally snaps Dinah back to the present, ripping away with a gasp and turning her head. 

“Sneaky.” 

“I’m getting a head start,” Helena says, kissing her lips quickly again before sitting up and straddling Dinah’s thighs. “Give me your hands.” 

“So you can kiss them?” Dinah says with a mischievous wag of her eyebrows and a twist of her lips. 

“So I can take off your rings.” 

“You’re no fun.” 

“And you are going to fall asleep in three minutes,” Helena throws back but she’s smiling as she says the words and Dinah’s smile softens. 

“Three?” 

“Three.” 

Dinah just hums in response and lets Helena slide the countless rings from her fingers, smiling lazily when Helena lifts her left hand and kisses her ring finger before taking off her engagement and wedding ring and setting it on the nightstand, separate from all the others. Dinah lets Helena crawl off her body without protesting, barely helping as Helena yanks at one of her high heeled boots until the shoe comes loose and repeating it with the other, dropping both shoes just by the side of the bed and running her hands over Dinah’s legs up to the zipper of her tight jeans. 

“Gettin’ frisky?” Dinah murmurs but she’s looking at Helena through heavy sleep-lidded eyes. 

Still, Helena cracks a smile and says, “Yes.” 

Dinah’s eyes slide shut as her lips pull into a smile, and she lifts her hips a little when Helena swiftly gets the jeans unbuttoned and unzipped and starts tugging it down her legs. Her top is next and Helena makes quick work of unbuttoning the tight vest, using her grip on the lapels to pull Dinah into a sitting position. 

She sits up easily, arms looping around Helena’s neck like they belong there and usually she’d be endeared by it but she’s trying to get Dinah out of her clothes before she passes out. 

“Mm,” Dinah sighs. “Comfy.” 

She manages to get one arm free at a time to slide the vest away from her body and takes off her bra at the same time, and by the time Helena has a careful hand cradling the back of Dinah’s head to lay her back down, Dinah is fast asleep. 

She gets Dinah under the covers easily enough now that she’s sleeping and she takes the clothes to the bathroom to drop in the hamper while getting undressed herself and brushing her teeth, having a quiet laugh to herself at how lethal a combination red wine and lack of sleep is for Dinah. 

When she shuffles back into the bedroom, finally feeling her own exhaustion tugging at her shoulders, she stops by the side of the bed, smiling down at her wife. 

Dinah has scooted to the middle of the bed, still facing outward and with a hand curled under her cheek. 

Helena feels a swell of affection rise in her, and she doesn’t resist reaching out to softly trail her fingertips along the smooth skin of Dinah’s cheek and smiling when Dinah sighs softly. Helena uses her thumb to trace a small cross over Dinah’s forehead, the way her mother used to do with her when she was little, a final night time protection from above, as she used to say. 

A deep yawn breaks free from her chest and Helena steps away, turning off the light as she goes and easily making her way to her side of the bed, sliding into bed and to the middle, arm winding around Dinah’s middle and shifting her that slight bit closer so that they’re comfortably settled together. 

Dinah stirs a little, lets out a soft groan and Helena just kisses her cheek. 

“I love you,” Helena says softly against her skin and Dinah doesn’t smile but the corners of her mouth twitch as she lets out another low sound. 

Helena adjusts the sheets over them and closes her eyes, already thinking about the morning and how they’ll get to sleep in and stay in bed until late in the morning, tangled around each other, quiet and intimate with no expectations from the outside world, and she’ll marvel at Dinah’s smile and her heart will flutter whenever Dinah laughs and she’ll smile back when Dinah drops a flurry of kisses to her face and she’ll feel warm and light and full of love. 

Helena falls asleep with a smile on her face. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading and let me know what you think!


End file.
